Hello, Neighbor
by xsleepyheaderz
Summary: Syaoran, a rich and popular guy, was known as the Prince of the school, and Sakura, as an ordinary girl, didn't really care. But what happens when Sakura finds out a secret that he desparately tried to cover and their lives intertwine?
1. The Little Stuffed Animal

**Hello, Neighbor**

Hello, everyone! This is my new story, "Hello, Neighbor!" This will be a major project that I will be working on followed by Promise (which is nearly ending). Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I think I said this quite a few times, but just in case: I don't own CCS or its anime. Man, I kind of wish I did though... WAHH (cries like a baby)!!!**

**Author's Note:** Hi everyone! I'd like to try something different with this fanfiction. The Promise That I Made With You was a fanfiction based on POVs. This one will be on a third person point of view, but sometimes there are narrations made by Sakura based on her perspective (so I guess you can call it a mini POV). I think this way is better, since I was so used to POVs in Promise that I just couldn't let it go yet. They will be _italicized _so there won't be much confusion, but if you still don't get it, just keep reading and you'll eventually understand.

**Chapter 1**

**The Little Stuffed Animal**

_Hi, my name is Kinomoto Sakura. I'm seventeen years old and a junior in Seijyu High School._

"Sakura, you're going to be late for school!" shouted a man who was in his mid twenties with short, black hair and an impatient face.

"I'm coming Touya, geez!" yelled the called girl's name as she ran down the stairs with her book bag swinging behind her. Touya quickly handed her a small bowl of rice and another bowl of soup as she sat down at the table.

"Get cracking," he snapped as he tossed her a pair of chopsticks.

"Alright, alright!" she snapped back as she started to shove the rice into her mouth.

They heard the front door open and another man about the same age as Touya walked into the kitchen.

"Hi Yukito-san!" choked Sakura, for she accidentally swallowed nearly all of the hot soup.

"Good morning Sakura," said Yukito smiling. "Didn't I tell you to drop the honorifics?"

"Oh yeah," said Sakura slowly.

"Yo," said Touya to Yukito as he took off his apron.

He looked at Sakura who was scrambling to get the dishes in the sink.

"I'll wash them," he said as she started to grab a sponge. "Hurry and go."

"Gah!" said Sakura as she tried to stuff her feet in her shoes.

_I live with my older brother, Touya. Right now, my father, Fujitaka, is currently in America, teaching Japanese and Architecture at a university. My mother, Nadeshiko, died of tuberculosis ten years ago._

"Make sure you come home early," said Touya as he started the car. "I'm coming home from work early anyway."

"Okay, okay," said Sakura as she hitched up her bike. "Bye, Yukito! Bye, Jerk."

"Hmph," said Touya as Yukito beamed and went inside the car as well.

"Have fun at school Sakura!" Yukito called as the car sped away.

"Geh… I hate mornings," Sakura muttered. "Waking up early…"

She stared at the house next to her, which was more exquisite and larger than hers. Of course, it belonged to a very rich person.

She sighed and continued to ride along the sidewalk.

_My neighbor is super rich; I heard she owned some sort of Fashion Company or something._

She began to ride her bike down the street and saw…

"_A girl?"_ thought Sakura.

A young woman with long brown hair was sitting on a bench and was crying.

"H-hey…" said Sakura as she went to her. "Are you alright?"

She placed a hand on her shoulder. The girl looked up at her. She looked as though she was about the same age as Sakura and she had dark brown eyes.

"Um…" said Sakura.

"K-Kero… Kero-chan is gone…" she sobbed, her eyes filled with tears.

"_Kero-chan?" _thought Sakura. _"Maybe he's a pet?"_

"Um… what does he look like?" she said aloud.

"H-he's orange…" said the girl _("What the heck? Orange?!"_ thought Sakura) "And… he-he has a long fluffy tail… and small eyes…"

"Er…" said Sakura.

Her first impression was that it would be a dog or something… now it sounded like it was some sort of stuffed animal.

"Um… I need to get to school," said Sakura slowly. "But if I ever see him, I'll tell you right away!"

"Okay…!" said the girl as though Sakura had already found it. "Thank you so much!"

She smiled and waved as Sakura rode away.

"_Whoa that was weird…" _she thought. She heard the faint bell ring from the school.

_"GAH I'M LATE!!"_

She peddled as hard as she could and reached the school gates.

_Hmm… that was new._

"This is the fifteenth time Kinomoto," said the principal, sighing, for he was at the gate.

"I—I'm sorry!" said Sakura as she bowed. "You see… there was this girl crying—"

"If I catch you again, you're going straight to detention young lady," he said sternly. "I'm only letting you go this time because you only missed by a minute."

"Oh okay," said Sakura. "Thank you!" She ran into the school and quietly slipped into her seat as the teacher came in.

"Sakura-chan, late again as always," said her friend Chiharu. "What happened this time?"

"Well—" started Sakura.

"Are you alright?" said her other friend Naoko.

"Eh—" said Sakura.

"She's fine," said Tomoyo. She smiled at Sakura. "Did you have trouble sleeping?"

"Um—" said Sakura.

"Oh, teacher's here," said Rika.

Sakura sighed as Terada Yoshiyuki came into the classroom.

"Good morning class," said the teacher. "Did you all do your homework?"

"Yes, Terada-sensei," said the class.

Sakura gulped. _"Oh, no I forgot," _she thought.

"Kinomoto!" said Terada suddenly. "What is the answer for question one?"

"_Wah…"_ thought Sakura as she stared at her empty notebook.

_Man, I sometimes hate school…_

"Ooh, he was pretty rough on you," said Tomoyo as Sakura slumped on her bike and took out a box of juice.

The bell had rung and the students started walked out of the school gates, walking, riding, and taking the bus home.

"Yeah…" said Sakura. "Man, I forgot… since I helped Touya with the packing last night."

"When is he leaving?" asked Tomoyo.

"Tomorrow," Sakura replied. "With Yukito."

"Does that mean you're going to live by yourself?" Tomoyo asked amazed. "Since your brother and his friend are going to where your dad is." Sakura nodded.

"But… that's okay," she said. "I can pretty much take care of myself. And it's only for a bit."

"Sakura-chan," said Tomoyo. "If you ever need any help, ask me okay?"

"Of course," said Sakura. "I've known you for what… seven years… of course I'm going to ask you for help!"

She heard of some of the girls squealing and crying out.

"Hm?" she said. "What's going on?"

They both turned around and saw a huge group of girls crowding someone.

"Oh…" she said dully as she turned around and continued sip her juice.

"Li-kun! Li-kuuuuuuunnnnnn!" cried the girls.

_Li Syaoran is known to be really good looking and smart, so he's really popular. Stupid as it is, he's basically called the Prince of the school since he's so rich. I can't believe they'd actually call him a prince; they're freaking freaks if you ask me. He's only a junior and he's that popular. I can't believe it._

Tomoyo smiled and Sakura looked ahead of the road.

Then she stared and gasped.

An orange colored stuffed animal was stuck on a tree branch.

"Hey Tomoyo-chan, do you see that?" she said.

"Is that a stuffed animal?" said Tomoyo.

"Crap, there's this girl that's been looking for it," said Sakura. "Let's go get it."

"Be careful Sakura-chan," warned Tomoyo as they both approached the tree.

"Don't worry Tomoyo-chan," said Sakura as she started to climb it.

"_Hey, it's a pretty cute doll," _thought Sakura as she grabbed the stuffed animal.

"Sakura-chan, the branch!" yelled Tomoyo.

"Wha—" Sakura started before she heard a branch snap. Tomoyo cried out as Sakura lost her balance and fell…

…into something soft and warm.

"Eh?" she said, opening her eyes.

She was staring at a pair of dark brown eyes.

"Li-kun!" Sakura heard a group of girls cry out. He suddenly dropped Sakura to the ground who fell on her butt.

"Ow!" said Sakura. Syaoran looked sternly at her and without another word, turned and went to his motorcycle. The girls circled around him until he wore his helmet and sped off. Then the girls gave disappointed sighs and started to walk home.

"S-Sakura-chan, are you alright?" said Tomoyo.

A couple of girls came to me.

"Li-kun saved you didn't he?" said one girl.

"I guess…" said Sakura as she stood up.

"He's so cool," chorused the girls dreamily.

"If you say so…" said Sakura irritably as she walked to her bike. Tomoyo giggled.

_Even though a guy is popular, doesn't mean he's a nice guy. Hmph… jerk._

Sakura rode to where she met the girl, and sure enough, she was still sitting on the bench, looking gloomier than ever.

"Hey!" said Sakura as she went to her. The girl looked up at her, and stared.

Sakura rummaged through her bag and took out the plushie.

"Is this Kero-chan?" she asked.

The girl looked like she was going to die from happiness.

"THANK YOU!" she cried as she hugged Sakura.

"Gah! N-No problem…" said Sakura as the girl released her grip on her.

The girl grabbed the plushie and sobbed again. "I thought I lost him!" she said.

"Well, I'm happy for you," said Sakura as she smiled. "Is that one of a kind? I never saw that before."

"Um… yes he is," said the girl as she wiped her eyes. "He's extremely important to me. Thank you!"

Sakura smiled again. She couldn't help but feel… happy, but at the same time, confused. Why is she referring the doll as a he?

"What's your name?" said the girl.

"Oh… Kinomoto Sakura," said Sakura. The girl stared at her.

"Um…" said Sakura. "Is there something wrong?"

"No!" said the girl. "My name is… Akizuki Nakuru!"

They smiled at each other.

"Well… I gotta go," said Sakura. "See you later."

"Bye bye!" said Nakuru as she waved and saw Sakura ride away.

"She was cute, wasn't she?" said Nakuru.

"Whatever…" said a voice.

_As you heard, my brother and his friend are going to meet my father in America, and they're all going to return here in a few months. Which means…_

"I'm home," said Sakura as she opened the door.

"You're late squirt," said Touya as he approached her, sweating a bit.

"Sorry… I was helping someone find something," she said.

"Well, whatever," he said. "C'mon, bring that bag over here."

He pointed to a large black bag and pointed it to the living room. He was in the middle of carrying a huge, stuffed brown bag to the car. There was some stuff along the floor, ready to be packed.

"Oh okay…" said Sakura as she casually looked out of the window.

She saw a young man with short brown hair walking by her house…

…carrying a small orange plushie with beady eyes…

"_Oh my…" _thought Sakura.

"T-TOUYA, I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!" she cried as she began to wear her sneakers.

"Wait, what are you—?" started Touya, but she had already ran out of the house.

She ran to the guy who was walking and screamed, "HEY YOU!"

The guy turned around puzzled, clutching the orange stuffed animal. She couldn't see his face for a moment, but that didn't matter.

"_It's extremely important to me."_

"RAWR!" cried Sakura as she tackled him to the ground.

The guy gave a huge, "OOF!" and they both fell to the ground, with Sakura on top of him.

"Hey you! What do you think you're doing!" screamed Sakura as she tried to stand up. "You thief…?"

She stared. It was Li Syaoran.

"Get off of me!" he yelled as he pushed her off. "And I'm not a thief!"

Sakura snapped out of her stare.

"You stole this!" she said as she held the plushie that was unmistakably Nakuru's.

"No I didn't!" he said, quite irritated. "I didn't steal it!"

"Yes you did! From a girl right?!" she said. "Spill it, you rotten thief!"

Syaoran gave her a second stare and said slowly, "Look girl, it's none of your business okay? Give it back to me."

"I'm not giving it back to a thief!" said Sakura angrily.

"Will you give me the damn doll?!" he yelled. "Give it back, _please_!"

"NO!" snapped Sakura as Syaoran nearly blew away from her rage. "I'm returning it to its rightful owner!"

She stomped away, plushie on hand, to her house.

"Sakura, what happened?" said Yuktio as he came to her when she entered the house.

"Nothing… nothing…" said Sakura, her breath heaving. "Just holding this for a friend…"

She wondered if the guy would come after her… but he didn't.

"_Hmph, freaking bastard,"_ she thought_. "How dare he steal from a person?! I can't believe he'd stoop that low as to stealing. And I thought he was rich."_

Then she trembled a bit. What if he went after her at school?

"C'mon, Sakura," said Touya. "I need these all packed by tomorrow!"

"Okay, okay," she said as she placed the plushie on the kitchen table and started to help Touya put away stuff in the bag.

…_I'm going to live by myself for a while._

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Touya finally placed the last bag into the car. The sunny Sunday morning got Sakura wide awake.

"See you later Sakura…" said Yukito as he patted her head. She smiled as he went inside the car.

She stared at Touya who sighed and looked at her face for a moment. Yukito quietly waited for him in the car.

"Be careful squirt," he said as he ruffled her hair.

"Hey…!" she said. She noticed that he didn't remove his hand from her head.

He suddenly wrapped his free arm around her and gave her a tight hug.

"Take care… Sakura," he said softly. "We'll be back soon."

She smiled at him, and he grinned. Then she saw him go in the car as well and started the engine.

She waved as the car sped away and slowly sighed.

"I guess I'm all alone for a few months…" she muttered.

She went inside the house and stared at the kitchen table. The stuffed animal was…

"What the—?" she said. "It's gone!"

She frantically searched throughout the kitchen, but there was no sign of it.

"_Great…"_ she thought. _"I lost—"_

"Kero-chan!" cried a voice.

It sounded strangely familiar.

She spun around and saw Nakuru running around, calling for Kero.

"A-Akizuki!" said Sakura as she opened the door.

"OH!" said Nakuru, showing the familiar stream of tears of her face. "I lost Kero-chan, AGAIN!"

"Oh… er…" said Sakura. "I… er… saw it."

"You did?" exclaimed Nakuru. "WHERE?"

"Er… it's inside my house somewhere," said Sakura. "I can't find it. You can come in to help me look for it."

"Oh—okay!" said Nakuru wiping her tears again. "Thank you!"

She went inside and we both started to look in the living room.

"So… how did you lose it?" asked Sakura.

"This… um… really mean person came and hit me," said Nakuru sadly. "And then stole Kero away!"

Sakura thought about Syaoran. "Man… and he said he didn't steal…" she muttered.

"A he?" said Nakuru blankly.

"Yeah… why?" said Sakura slowly.

"Oh… nothing," she said.

Sakura stared at her.

"Where is your kitchen?" Nakuru asked quickly.

"Um… over here…" she said pointing. They both walked to the table.

"I placed him here… and now he's gone," Sakura explained. "I hope my brother didn't take it."

"Oh… he didn't," said Nakuru.

"Eh? How do you know?" said Sakura.

"Just a feeling," said Nakuru quickly as she opened a cookie jar

"What the…" said Sakura. The orange plushie was sitting on top of a small amount of cookies inside the jar.

"Did Touya put this here?" said Sakura. "And… almost all the cookies are gone!"

"Oh… I'm so sorry…" said Nakuru. "To give you so much trouble to find Kero…"

"Oh, it's okay," said Sakura. "I know how much he's precious to you."

"Thank you," said Nakuru. "Kinomoto-san, may I call you Sakura-chan?"

"Er… okay," said Sakura Nakuru gave her a wide smile. "You can call me Nakuru-chan okay?" she said. "Let's be friends!"

Sakura felt Nakuru grab her hand and slowly shook it, with the other hand firmly grabbing Kero.

"Make sure you don't lose it," said Sakura slowly. She felt something weird about the stuffed animal.

"Don't worry, I won't!" said Nakuru. "Thank you!"

Sakura smiled again. Something about her made her feel… floaty.

"I'll see you later!" said Nakuru as she walked out of the house.

"Bye…!" said Sakura, and she closed the door.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"You beat up _Li Syaoran_?" said Chiharu amazed.

"No… I just—" started Sakura.

"She was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Tomoyo casually.

"Yeah, that must've been it, right Sakura-chan?" said Rika calmly.

"Yeah…" Sakura said slowly.

The school bell rang for lunch.

"Alright, class dismissed," said Ms. Mizuki Kaho.

The students rushed out of the class to get their lunches. Kaho slowly went to Sakura and smiled at her.

"Good job, Sakura," she said. "I heard from Touya that you're going to live by yourself for some time. If you need anything, I'm here to help, alright?"

"Okay, Mizuki-sensei," said Sakura.

Kaho smiled once more and left the room to get her lunch as well.

"Mizuki-sensei really likes you Sakura-chan," said Tomoyo as she unpacked her box lunch.

"Yeah, she and Touya knew each other for some time," said Sakura. "I got to know her through him."

_Nobody knows this, but Mizuki-sensei and Touya used to date a long time ago. Something happened though… I think it was because of her work that made them break up. But they still continued to be friends and every once in a while Mizuki-sensei gives me food and clothes. If I were bored or alone in the house, I usually visit Mizuki-sensei's house to hang out with her since she doesn't live that far away from me. She's a pretty fun person to hang out with._

"She's pretty cool for a teacher," said Naoko.

"Yeah…" Sakura started.

"Hey you," said a voice. They all looked up and Sakura gulped.

It was Li Syaoran… again.

Naoko and Chiharu stared and slightly blushed. Tomoyo and Rika stared as well, but instead of blushing, had mildly surprised expressions on their faces.

"Hu… yeah?" said Sakura, her voice trembling a bit.

"_Wh-Why am I scared?" _she thought. _"He should be scared of me!"_

"I need to talk to you," he said slowly. "Come with me."

"Er… okay…" she said.

There was a huge group of girls waiting for him, but Syaoran waved his hand and his friends came to block them.

They went inside an empty classroom. Sakura gulped again. Syaoran stared intently at her.

"So…" he said.

"Er…" said Sakura.

Sakura's mind was racing. She couldn't think of what to say. Was he going to beat her up in revenge of what she did to him?

"Do you know?" he said suddenly.

"Wh-what?" said Sakura blankly.

He took a few steps closer to her, so that Sakura could see the pupils in his eyes.

"H-Hey what are you…?" started Sakura until his face was only a few inches away from hers.

He leaned in further and whispered to her ear.

"Answer me."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" said Sakura. Syaoran drew away from her, his expression solid and unreadable.

"So you don't…" he muttered.

"I… guess?" said Sakura staring.

"Fine…" he said.

"Why did you steal from Nakuru-chan?" she blurted. He nearly glared at her.

"You're still onto me for that aren't you?" he scoffed. "I didn't steal."

"But..." she started.

"Fine, believe what you want," he said. "Girls are always like that."

Sakura wanted to punch him, but a voice in the back of her head warned her not to.

He started to walk out of the class. Then he tilted his head slightly so he could see her.

"By the way," he said. "Don't touch me ever again."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"What a fucking jerk," muttered Sakura as she waited at the signal. She had just finished grocery shopping and was heading home.

Sakura held her umbrella up higher as the rain got thicker.

She began to cross when she heard a sneeze. Sakura turned around and stared.

"N-Nakuru-chan," she said. Nakuru smiled and sneezed again. She was wearing a huge coat and jeans.

"Y-You're soaked!" said Sakura.

"Oh… yes, I forgot to bring an umbrella," said Nakuru. "I'm a little cold…"

"Nakuru-chan where do you live?" said Sakura as she tried to cover both of them up with the umbrella.

"Pretty far…" said Nakuru.

"Er, hey," said Sakura. "Take a bath at my house okay? I'm living by myself for a while, so it's okay. When the rain stops, you can go home."

"Thank you…!" said Nakuru.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"Here you go," said Sakura as she handed Nakuru two towels.

"Thank you," said Nakuru as she wiped her wet face.

"You can take a bath downstairs, I'll use my parent's bathroom," said Sakura. "And you can use these."

She also handed Nakuru a set of pajamas.

"You can wear these while your clothes dry," she explained.

"Oh… thank you so much," said Nakuru as she took her bag and tower to the bathroom.

"Er… no problem," said Sakura. "I'll see you later."

She went upstairs and heard Nakuru starting the bathtub downstairs and walked to parent's bathroom.

She took off her clothes and turned on the faucet.

"_She's really nice I guess…" _she thought. _"Better than that stupid Li Syaoran."_

When she was done washing she went downstairs and saw that the downstairs bathroom lights were still on.

"Eh? Nakuru-chan you're still washing?" said Sakura.

There was no answer.

_Life at times is known to be strange..._

Sakura, puzzled, saw that the pajamas were outside of the bathroom door. She took it and went inside (There are two doors in the bathroom).

"_At least Nakuru is a girl," _she thought. _"That way this wouldn't be so embarrassing…"  
_

"Nakuru-chan?" she called. "I have your pajamas."

_But for this… it's quite ridiculous._

The door opened before she reached the doorknob. Lots of steam gushed out of the door and a tall figure came out. She stared at the figure and the pajamas she held dropped to the floor.

Li Syaoran, covered by a towel, stared right back at her.

**To be continued…**

Whoa, what the hell is going on? Until next time! Please review!


	2. The Guy Next Door

Hi everyone! This is Chapter 2! I'm really happy that I got a lot of reviews for the first chapter! So I decided to hurry and update today for all who were anxious on seeing what was going to happen. Thanks everyone!

**Chapter 2**

**The Guy Next Door**

They stared at each other for ten seconds. Small drops of water fell from Syaoran's hair.

"KYAAAA!" screamed Sakura as she covered her eyes with the pajamas.

"AAHHHH!" yelled Syaoran, grabbing another towel to cover more of himself.

"Wh-What are you doing here?!" she cried.

"You kidnapped me!" he shouted.

"What the hell?!" she shrieked. "Why would I kidnap a jerk like you?!"

"Beats me, I'm the victim!" he snapped. "And don't call me a jerk!"

"Where's Nakuru-chan?" she exclaimed, peeking a bit to look around for her. "You didn't kill her, did you?!"

Syaoran looked surprised. "No…" he started.

Sakura stared at him with a puzzled expression. He looked horrified.

"Nakuru is not here," said a voice. Sakura looked around to see where it came from; she certainly knew it wasn't Syaoran, for his mouth didn't move.

Something moved behind her and Sakura spun around. It was the stuffed animal.

"What…?" she started.

"Nakuru is not here," it repeated.

For a moment, Sakura believed it was her imagination that was messing with her. A stuffed animal talking…?

It blinked at her.

"IT-IT TALKED?!" she cried, backing away.

"Kero, what the hell are you doing?!" said Syaoran sharply.

Sakura turned to Syaoran. He knew the stuffed animal can talk? And… how does he know its name?

"It looks like the spell reversed on you for today," said the stuffed animal. "Lucky you, Syaoran."

"Lucky?" exclaimed Syaoran. "She knows now!"

"Quit howling," snapped the stuffed animal. "She was going to find out eventually."

"But—" started Syaoran.

"YEEEEKKKKK!" screeched Sakura.

She grabbed as many towels and hairbrushes she can take, throwing them all at Kero and Syaoran, who tried their best to cover themselves.

"Ouch!" said Kero.

"Eh, stop—!" snapped Syaoran.

"THIS IS A DREAM RIGHT?" yelled Sakura, pinching herself everywhere. "THIS IS—WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?"

"Girl, come down—!"

"WAHHHHH!" said Sakura, grabbing a pillow and slamming it unto Kero's face. He flew across the room, totally stunned by her blow.

"Hey—!" said Syaoran, getting closer, shielding himself with his hand. "STOP!"

She ran towards the phone and dialed for the police

"H-Hello?" said Sakura quickly and out of breath. "Um, there's this guy who's naked and a stuffed toy that can talk—"

"STOP HER!" roared Kero, zooming at Sakura with his miniature wings.

"EYAAH!"

Syaoran tried tackling Sakura while Kero tried putting the phone back on the receiver. Sakura dodged Syaoran's hands from grabbing her, as she ran across the room.

"GO AWAY, YOU FREAK!" screamed Sakura as she grabbed another pillow.

"LISTEN, DON'T FREAK OUT—" started Syaoran as he grabbed the pillow that she was holding.

She ran to the bed and tried to get more pillows, but Syaoran ran to her and threw the pillows from her reach.

"AHHH!" cried Sakura. "I'M GOING TO GET RAPED!"

"YOU SICK FREAK, I'M NOT GOING TO—" started Syaoran.

He tried to grab the alarm clock she was holding from her, but instead, lost his balance and fell…

…on top of her…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" they both yelled out.

_**POOF!**_

Sakura coughed a bit from the small smoke that came up. Kero looked bored.

"Aiya, it can't be helped," he sighed. "Are you guys done having fun now?"

"Ah…" said a familiar voice.

Sakura stared through the thick smoke that gradually cleared away.

Nakuru, half naked, looked around curiously and coughed a bit from the smoke as well.

"N-Nakuru-chan?" exclaimed Sakura.

"Oh, Sakura-chan!" said Nakuru brightly. "You have a really nice bath—"

"Cover yourself up, please!" cried Sakura as she tried to cover up Nakuru's top part of her body with a towel.

"Do you see now? Nakuru and Syaoran is the same person," said Kero slowly. "Hmm… well not the same, but they inhabit the same body."

"How…?" said Sakura. Nakuru started to wear the pajamas.

"Whenever Syaoran touches a woman, he turns into Nakuru," explained Kero. "If Nakuru touches a man, she will change into Syaoran."

Sakura gasped.

"_Don't touch me ever again."_

"_Was that why… he said that?" _she thought.

"But how did Nakuru-chan change into Li?" said Sakura. "I'm pretty sure I don't have any men in this house."

"Oh… well, he can turn back sometimes without touching a guy," said Kero lightly.

"Why's that?" said Sakura.

"I dunno…" said Kero slowly. He sighed. "Well enough explaining," he said. "I think you got what's going on."

"What are you then?" said Sakura to Kero.

"Nothing important," he replied.

Sakura had the feeling that she shouldn't ask anymore questions.

"Ooh, these are really comfy Sakura-chan," said Nakuru as she looked at herself with the pajamas on.

Sakura sighed. Syaoran would never act like that.

"Well anyways," said Kero. "I guess we can't go anywhere since it's still raining. Do you mind that we eat here? I'm hungry."

"Ooh, can we?" said Nakuru pleadingly.

"Eh…" said Sakura. "O… okay…"

"Yay! Let's eat ramen!" said Nakuru.

Something about Nakuru made Sakura's spirits lift high.

"Oh… okay!" said Sakura. They both smiled at each other as Kero looked at the ramen packs.

"I want two!" he said.

"Hey… were you the one who ate all my cookies?" asked Sakura sternly.

"Er… well… I was hungry…" said Kero nervously.

"Eh, well, ask next time okay?" said Sakura.

"Okay…" said Kero as he watched Nakuru take out four packs of ramen from the grocery bag.

"Ah! Hot!" cried Nakuru as she put the stale noodles in the boiling water. Sakura laughed as Kero scolded Nakuru.

"_Nakuru-chan… acts totally opposite of Li…" _thought Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, it smells really good doesn't it?" said Nakuru happily as she watched Kero put four eggs into the pot.

"Yeah…" said Sakura.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"Itadakimasu!" said Kero as he began to eat the ramen. Sakura could hardly believe that something his size would eat so much.

"Kero-chan, you're such a pig!" said Nakuru smiling.

"Kero… that's your name right?" said Sakura.

Kero gave a huge swallow and said, "Actually, my name is Cerberus."

"No it's not, it's Kero-chan!" said Nakuru.

"Quiet you!" said Kero angrily as he hit Nakuru with his chopsticks.

"Well, since Li calls you Kero, I'll call you Kero-chan too," said Sakura as Nakuru rubbed her forehead painfully.

"Whatever," said Kero, then he continued eating his ramen.

_I wonder if anyone knows besides me…_

"Wow, that was really good!" said Nakuru as she and Sakura both placed their chopsticks down (Kero finished a long time ago).

"Eating ramen on rainy days makes it taste better," said Kero, eating a cookie.

"Yeah, I guess…" said Sakura. All this happened so fast, so she was still getting used to it.

"Sakura…" said Kero more sternly. "You have to keep this a secret okay? Don't tell anyone."

"I know, I won't tell," said Sakura. She first thought about telling Tomoyo, but she decided not to after what Kero said.

She looked outside. The rain had stopped.

"Well, thanks for the food," said Kero as Nakuru brought in the dry clothes. She changed into them and returned the pajamas to Sakura.

"Thank you so much, Sakura-chan," said Nakuru smiling. "We're counting on you, okay?"

"Er, right," said Sakura.

"Bye!" said Nakuru as she waved. Kero went inside the jacket pocket and Nakuru walked away.

Sakura slowly closed the door and sighed as she sat down on the couch.

"What a day…" she said.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"Hey, Sakura-chan, you're up early," said Tomoyo.

"Oh… yeah I went to sleep early," said Sakura as they both started to walk up to the classroom.

"Oh?" said Tomoyo as she looked up.

"Hm?" said Sakura as she looked to where Tomoyo was looking at. She stared.

Syaoran walked up to them unintentionally and stared right back. They both jumped back at the sight at each other.

"Um…" started Tomoyo.

"You…" he whispered staring at Sakura.

"_Yeek!" _thought Sakura. Suddenly, he grabbed her arm (her uniform had long sleeves) and began to drag her away from Tomoyo.

"Hey, what are you—?" started Sakura.

"We need to talk," said Syaoran.

"S-Sakura-chan?" said Tomoyo, looking alarmed.

"Help me…" whispered Sakura to Tomoyo as Syaoran dragged her away.

"E-Eh?! S-Sakura-chan…!" said Tomoyo as a group of girls covered her from seeing where Sakura went.

Syaoran dragged Sakura into another empty classroom.

"_Hmm… why does this look so familiar…?" _thought Sakura.

"What happened?" said Syaoran. "Yesterday…"

"Oh, you mean when you were trying to rape me?" said Sakura casually.

"I wasn't trying to rape you!" said Syaoran, annoyed. "I fell!"

"Well, you turned into Nakuru-chan, if that's what you wanted to know," said Sakura staring at him. "Wait… you don't remember?"

"What?" said Syaoran. "Of course not…"

"So when… so if you turn into Nakuru-chan, you don't remember a thing?" asked Sakura amazed.

"No…" said Syaoran.

"Were you… born like this?" she asked nervously.

"No…" he said. "It happened, a while ago…"

"Kero-chan said it was a spell," said Sakura. "Did you do some kind of hocus pocus thing or something?"

Syaoran stared glumly at Sakura as she made witchlike gestures with her hands.

"This isn't a spell… it's a _curse_," he said quietly.

"Eh…?" said Sakura. "How did you get it?"

"Well I—" started Syaoran.

Suddenly, the door banged open and a huge swarm of girls came out.

"LI-KUN!" they screamed as they started to crowd around them.

"_Oh no, what if one of them touches him…?" _thought Sakura as she felt some of the girls push her away.

"Hey—stop—!" started Syaoran as the girls crowded around him.

_**POOF!**_

"Ahh!" said Sakura. There was a blast of smoke and quite a few girls screamed.

"L-Li?!" said Sakura as she tried to see where he was. She saw Nakuru try to get herself away from the crowd.

"N-Nakuru-chan!" said Sakura and Nakuru turned to her, obviously scared.

"Where did Li-kun go?" said a girl. The smoke was clearing.

Without thinking, Sakura took off Nakuru's jacket and covered Nakuru's face.

"L-Li doesn't feel so good right now," she said quickly. "So um, he needs to—uh—get to the restroom!"

She and Nakuru ran together out of the class before the girls said anything.

"You okay?" said Sakura, still holding the jacket covering Nakuru.

"Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry," said Nakuru in a muffled voice. "I didn't know—"

"It's okay, let's go," said Sakura. They both ran to the girl's restroom.

"How did Li get away from all this?" said Sakura as she looked around to see if anyone was in the stalls.

"He was usually surrounded by his guy friends," Nakuru explained. "Or he just stayed away from the girls."

"Wait, you remember?" said Sakura, surprised.

"Yes…" said Nakuru. "I can't control what he does though. I can only watch."

"Oh…" said Sakura. "Okay, well, we either need to get you a girl's uniform… or… get you to touch a guy—"

_**POOF!**_

"WHOA!" said Sakura as Syaoran took out the jacket from his head.

"Damn it…" he said as Sakura cleared away the smoke with her hands.

He looked around himself.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed. "I'm in the girl's restroom!"

"Oh, um sorry," said Sakura. "I didn't know where else to take you."

"Ugh…" said Syaoran as both of them went out of the bathroom.

A couple of girls were going inside and stared at Syaoran as he came out.

"L-Li-kun?" they stammered in unison. "What are you doing…?"

"Oh…" said Sakura. But Syaoran turned away quickly from them and walked hurriedly outside.

The girls looked a little freaked. "Is it me, or did Li-kun act a little strange today?" said one girl.

"Maybe he's just like that…" said the other girl.

"_He just stayed away from the girls."_

"_Hm, so I guess the girls just watch him from far away, without even meeting him…" _thought Sakura. _"Dang, he's like a freaking celebrity or something!"_

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" said Tomoyo as she and Sakura walked out of the classroom.

"Yeah…" said Sakura, sighing. "Never been better…"

"What did Li want?" said Tomoyo.

"Oh… nothing," said Sakura. "He was just asking if—"

"Hey you," said a familiar voice. Sakura slowly turned around. It was Syaoran_ again_. Sakura was surprised that he would even come back to her.

"Oh… uh hi," said Sakura. Tomoyo looked at Syaoran curiously.

"Want me to take you home?" he said slowly.

Sakura stared. Tomoyo did as well.

"Er—" started Sakura.

"Oh, was that what he was asking you?" said Tomoyo smiling. "Go on ahead Sakura-chan. I'll see you Monday!"

"Hey—wait!" said Sakura, but Syaoran grabbed her by the arm again and took her to his motorcycle.

"Hi, Sakura!" said Kero as he popped out of the book bag.

"Kero-chan!" said Sakura as Syaoran gave her a helmet.

"Wear this," said Syaoran. "And hold tight."

"I thought you said I shouldn't touch you anymore," said Sakura. "Doesn't that bother you?"

"Not really," said Syaoran as he put on his own helmet. "You already know anyway." Kero went back inside the bag.

_Maybe… Li can be more than he seems._

"Thanks…" said Sakura as she handed Syaoran back his helmet. They arrived at her house.

Syaoran stared at the house next to hers. There was a huge truck parked outside.

"I didn't know you lived here…" he said, looking back at her house.

"Oh?" said Sakura. "Don't you live far from here?"

"…"

"…?"

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow I guess," said Syaoran finally.

"Oh, you mean Monday?" said Sakura.

Syaoran didn't reply and drove off.

"_He must feel awkward since I know his secret now…" _thought Sakura. She shrugged and went inside the house.

There was a telephone call.

"Hello?" said Sakura.

"Hey Sakura, how are you doing?" said Touya.

"Oh Touya! You made a safe trip," said Sakura. "I'm doing okay."

"Okay that's good," said Touya. "Dad can't come to the phone right now, but he'll call later okay? I'll talk to you later."

"Oh okay," said Sakura.

_Click._

She placed the phone down and went upstairs to her bedroom.

She sighed and lied on the bed.

"_Even though last night turned out weird…" _she thought. _"I didn't feel lonely at all… like I am now…"_

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"Mmph?" moaned Sakura as she slowly got up from bed. "Oh yeah… I gotta go buy… soba…"

She got up, and dressed up to go out. When she walked outside, she heard a door open and close. She turned to see the house next to her and yelled out.

"L-LI?!" she cried. He was wearing a brown shirt with white jeans.

"Hey, be quiet," he said as he walked down his house's steps to get a newspaper. "My mom is still sleeping."

"Wha?! You live here too?!" she said. "I thought Nakuru-chan said that you lived far away."

He scratched his head and said, "I used to, but I'm living with my mom for a while."

"_He was the rich woman's son?" _she thought.

"Did you live with your dad or something?" she said aloud as they both sat down on the steps.

"No, I lived by myself," he replied.

"_He had his own house?!" _she thought.

"Oh… how wonderful…" she said weakly. "Well, I guess you're my new neighbor now…"

"I guess," said Syaoran.

"Why are you living with your mom anyway?" said Sakura.

"She's getting ill," said Syaoran. "I'm taking care of her."

"Oh… I hope she's okay," she said. Syaoran stared at her.

"_Wah! Was it something I said?" _thought Sakura.

"Mind your own business," he said finally as he stood up and walked back to his house.

"Hmph," said Sakura.

_And maybe he's not._

Sakura returned home and found a letter in her mailbox.

"Hm?" she said as she opened it. She gaped and stared wide-eyed at the letter. It was from her school.

_To the parents of Kinomoto Sakura: _

_We would like to inform you that the school year's payments for the school year, involving Sakura-san's uniform, locker space, books, and classes have not been paid yet. If you do not pay at the end of Saturday, your child will not be able to attend school. The price has been placed at the bottom at this letter. Please contact the school principal for further questions._

Sakura looked at the list of things that weren't paid yet and down to the total of: _115,364 yen. _(A/N: This is equivalent to 1,000 US dollars)

"WHAT THE HELL?!" shrieked Sakura. She ran upstairs and dialed Touya's cell phone.

"_I'm not here right now. Please leave a message."_

Sakura slammed the receiver down. "Stupid Touya!" she cried. "I don't have that kind of money! Why the hell did he forget?!"

_My life… just got from strange to bad._

"One hundred thousand yen?!" said Rika. "That's a lot!"

"I know…" said Sakura as she slammed her face on the table.

"You have to pay it by yourself too…" said Tomoyo sadly. "I can help you if you want."

"No… it's okay," said Sakura. "I don't want to be a burden to you."

"Oh…" said Chiharu. "Poor Sakura-chan. But, didn't your brother pay for it?"

"Obviously he didn't," said Sakura dully. "I guess he forgot since he was so busy packing and stuff…"

Sakura looked up and saw Syaoran sitting with some friends and partially surrounded by girls.

Then something clicked inside her brain.

"_I could ask Li for money, since he's really rich," _she thought. _"Plus he owes me since I'm keeping his secret!"_

"I got it!" she said aloud.

"Eh?" said her friends in unison.

_This is what happens when strange and bad things mix together._

"H-Hey Li!" called Sakura as she saw Syaoran was wearing his helmet. The bell had rung for the end of the day, and almost everyone had left.

"What?" he said as he looked at her.

"I need to ask you a BIG favor!" she said.

"No," said Syaoran shortly as he went on his motorcycle.

"Hey c'mon!" said Sakura. "I'm keeping your secret!"

Syaoran sighed. "Do you see why I'm keeping this _curse _a secret?" he said. "People like you take advantage of me."

"I-I'm not…!" said Sakura. "And I'm sure Nakuru-chan would hear me out if I asked her to…"

"Fine, what do you want?" said Syaoran.

"Er…" said Sakura. She couldn't say it…

She was now thinking about what Syaoran had just said.

"_People like you take advantage of me."_

"Eh…" said Sakura.

"Well?" said Syaoran impatiently.

"Er, can I… have a ride?" she said. "I can't use my bike anymore… since it broke…"

Syaoran looked at her for a moment.

"Okay," he said. "Here."

He gave her a helmet. She held onto his stomach as he drove to her house.

"Er… thanks," she said when they reached to her house. He parked his motorcycle through his house gate.

"See you later," said Syaoran. He looked at her and saw that her face had a sad expression.

"What's wrong?" he said.

"Oh… it-it's nothing," said Sakura as she smiled at him. "I'll see you later, okay?"

She went inside her house.

"What's her problem?" said Syaoran.

"You're so stupid," said Kero, who came out of his jacket pocket.

"Shut up," said Syaoran as he went inside his house.

Sakura sighed and sat on the couch, holding a cushion.

"_If I ask him… I'm just like everyone else that Li thinks I am…" _she thought. _"And… he's right. It's like blackmailing him…"_

She sighed again and closed her eyes.

"_What do I do…?" _she thought.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Syaoran went to class and placed his book bag on his desk.

"Hey Li," said Yamazaki Takashi. "I hope you didn't get raided by the girls again."

"Eh, they're all annoying as usual," said Syaoran.

"Don't hate them," said Takashi. "They just like you."

Syaoran snorted.

"Sakura-chan didn't come to school today," said a girl. Syaoran turned to see who it was; it was Chiharu. She was talking to Naoko.

"Oh, is she sick?" said Naoko.

"I dunno," said Chiharu. "I'm worried."

Syaoran stared at his bag.

"_She was… acting a little weird…" _he thought. _"But… why should I care?"_

"Oh no, I bet she's getting stressed out because of the money," said Naoko. "How can you pay that much by yourself?"

"_Money…?" _he thought.

"Maybe she's looking for a job…" said Chiharu.

"_Hmm…" _he thought.

After school, avoiding the crowd of girls, he went straight home. He knocked into Sakura's door.

"Syaoran, are you worried about her?" said Kero.

"No," said Syaoran. "I'm just going to ask her something."

The door opened, and Sakura came out. She looked tired than usual.

"Oh, Li?" she said mildly. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" said Syaoran.

"Oh… sure," said Sakura.

He came inside and sat on the living room couch as Sakura brought tea and cake.

"Ooh!" said Kero as he took a plate and placed a slice himself.

"Don't eat it all Kero-chan," she said.

"Don't worry…" said Kero, though he looked a little sad.

Syaoran watched Sakura make three cups of tea.

"Kinomoto, why weren't you at school today?" he said.

"Oh… er…" said Sakura. "I didn't feel so good…"

"Are you in some sort of trouble?" said Syaoran. He noticed that there was a small pile of advertisements on the floor.

"Eh—" started Sakura.

"Syaoran was worried about you," said Kero.

"I was NOT!" said Syaoran angrily as Kero rolled his eyes. "I'm just asking!"

Kero continued to eat his cake as Syaoran cleared his throat.

"I heard you need money," he continued.

"EH—?" said Sakura. "How do you—?"

"How much?" he interrupted.

"About one hundred and fifteen thousand yen…" said Sakura slowly.

Syaoran paused a bit. "What is it for?" he asked.

"School payments…" said Sakura.

"Where are the rest of your family?" said Kero.

"They're in America right now," said Sakura.

"I see…" said Syaoran. He hesitated, and then said, "I'll give you money. That's what you wanted to ask me before, right?"

Sakura stared at him.

"Do you want money or not?" said Syaoran impatiently again.

"Oh, yes I do," said Sakura. "But… I'll feel bad…"

"Why?" said Syaoran.

"Because… you said you didn't want people taking advantage of you…" said Sakura.

"But this isn't taking advantage," he said.

"Huh?" said Sakura.

"You have to do a favor for me too," said Syaoran. "If you want me to give you the money…"

"F-Favor?" said Sakura.

"Yeah," said Syaoran. He paused a bit again. Then said, "Pretend to be my girlfriend for a while, and I'll give you the money."

"WHAT?" cried Sakura.

**To be continued…**

Whoa, what does Syaoran want? Until next time! Please review!


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